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This semiannual
report to the Congress summarizes the activities and accomplishments
of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Office
of Inspector General (OIG) for the period April 1, 2001 through
September 30, 2001.
In the
audit area, we issued eight (8) reports, including:
- FY
2000 Financial Statement Audit - Management Letter;
- Review
of Sensitive Payments;
- PBGC's
Use of the Government Purchase Card for Micro-purchases;
- Penetration
Testing 2001 - An Update; and
- PBGC's
Controls Over Handling and Processing The Original Proof
Documents Required for Benefit Eligibility.
In the investigative
area, we opened fourteen (14) new investigative cases during
the reporting period and closed nine (9) cases. Among the most
significant cases closed this period we found:
- Multiple
contract employees misused PBGC's electronic resources to
access and distribute pornography;
- A deceased
participant's daughter had cashed pension benefit checks;
she entered into an agreement to repay $11,457 to PBGC;
- A participant
filed a fraudulent form to waive his spouse's entitlement
to a benefit; and
- We
could not determine who was responsible for the loss or
theft of original proof documents submitted by participants
because the documents were not safeguarded or controlled;
new procedures were implemented based on suggestions
made in the investigation.
In our
Strategic Planning section, we added a sixth high-risk area
this year: Security of Information Technology Resources. The
importance of IT security has significantly increased because
of the phenomenal growth in Internet usage, the move toward
e-government, and the deployment of intranets. In addition,
the government has been subject to increasing attacks by hackers,
information viruses, employee fraud, and computer abuse. In
the past three reporting periods, we completed several security
evaluations, including two penetration testings, to help PBGC
management focus on strengthening security controls.
more...
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